


Hearts Below and Stars Above

by ThePlace



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, Established Relationship, F/F, Fire Alarms, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Playing fast and loose with Sylvain Lore, Rated T for language, Thunderstorms
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-03
Updated: 2019-05-03
Packaged: 2020-02-16 08:57:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,823
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18688267
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThePlace/pseuds/ThePlace
Summary: There are good nights at Amnesty Lodge. And then there are nights where just a sound can shatter the peace. Luckily, Dani and Aubrey are always there for each other on those nights.





	1. The Crash in Our Ears

**Author's Note:**

> Hope y'all are ready for some pure danbrey fluff cause that's what you're getting! Also, just rated T for language. Please enjoy!!

Surprisingly, Aubrey always loved the rain.

The quiet click of water hitting the roof. The blinding and brilliant flashes of lightning echoing with a rolling thunder which rumbled through her chest. The clear smell wafting through the air afterwards- All of it felt safe in a way, familiar even. Everywhere she went, whatever town she was in for her magic shows, no matter how far home was, the rain stayed the same.

So as the first big thunderstorm since she arrived brews in Kepler’s skies and begins to throw down everything it's got, Aubrey stands on the porch of Amnesty grinning up at the grey clouds, occasionally sticking out her hand to catch a few stray droplets before they hit the ground.

In the distance, a bolt of lightning arches through the clouds with a deafening crack following close behind.

_Fuck yeah!_

Honestly, the bigger the better when it comes to thunderstorms. Like yeah, Aubrey doesn’t necessarily want the power going out or anything but come on! Lightning is sweet as hell and she wants to get up close and personal with it. Well, more up close and more personal than, you know, shooting lightning out of her own hands.

Taking in one last breath of the heavy air, Aubrey heads back inside and makes her way to her room because the one thing better than standing outside in the rain is lying in bed _listening_ to the rain. Seriously, nothing gets her to sleep faster than that steady A+ pitter-patter.

Then as Aubrey opens her door, ready for an evening of cuddling up with Dr. Harris Bonkers and listening to the rain, an earth shattering boom of thunder actually shakes the lodge and Aubrey can’t help but let out a loud “Whoo!”

And then stops dead as she hears a quiet whimper.

Okay so that’s uh . . . Not a good thing. Slowly, Aubrey shuts her door, the click of the latch barely audible over the onslaught of rain. Alright so maybe that whimper had been a bit louder than she thought if she had heard it over everything else.

Here’s the thing, keeping quiet and staying still are not what Aubrey would consider her areas of expertise. There’s things to do and thoughts to say and why should she put that on pause? But in this moment, she tries her best, ears straining to pick up where-

Another crack of thunder echoes through the halls, louder than before, and this time, finding the source of the sounds of distress is as easy as looking to her left.

Which might be because that’s all she has to do.

Dani’s door is painted in a swirling pattern of rhododendrons lazily trailing up the sides and in the light, the vibrant pinks and greens make walking past feel like a breath of fresh air. But now, in the darkened hallway, the light from the hearth in the lobby barely reaching here, the rhododendrons seem also sad . . . Like they could do with a dose of the rain falling outside.

Now although Dani and Aubrey have been dating for a Hot Minute, she doesn’t know if this is one of those moments where Dani just wants to be alone or not, and Aubrey doesn’t-

Another flash of lightning. Another crack of thunder. Another whimper.

Yep. Okay. Nevermind. Dani can tell her to go away if she wants to. This is not something Aubrey can just ignore. “Dani?” A quick rap of her knuckles on the door. “Uh hey? You uhhh, you okay babe?”

From inside the room, Aubrey hears a slight sniffle then a quiet, “Just a minute!” And before Aubrey can let her slight panic consume her, Dani opens the door, a shaky smile on her lips. “Hey Aubs, how’s it going?”

Aubrey shifts her weight from foot to foot as she suddenly doesn’t know what to do with her hands as she looks on at Dani’s red eyes. She opts for just running a hand through her hair. “Well um, good?” she says, her voice raising up an octave at the end. “Are you- You good? I mean, how are you?”

Ooof. Already doing a _Great Job™._

“Oh I’m fine,” she says, her hands gripping the doorframe just a touch too tight. “You know, just finishing up a new painting and-”

A bolt of lightning lights up the window behind Dani and the rumbling of thunder isn’t even one mississippi behind it, and as it comes, Dani winces- Her face screwing up, eyes shut tight and a visible shudder coursing through her.

For a beat, neither of them move, the only sound being the rain crackling like embers above them.

Finally, Aubrey whispers “Wanna hang in my room? I just put up some sweet string lights and Dr. Harris Bonkers has been wanting a cuddle buddy all day.”

Dani takes a shaky breath. “That sounds nice.”

As soon as they get into Aubrey’s room, she draws the curtains, turns on the lights strung above her bed and scoops up Dr. Bonkers in her arms, carrying him over to where Dani sits on the bed just staring at her hands.

“You wanna hold him?”

Dani nods and soon finds herself with an armful of a highly educated rabbit flopping down on her lap.

“I can put on music? If you want?” Between her fingers, Aubrey starts flicking fire back and forth. “I’ve got uhh, well you know what I’ve got I guess. But I bet I can get Barclay to lend me some of his Jimmy Buffett CDs if you wanna be on island time? Or Jake’s got a Smash Mouth album we can crank up? And I might go to federal prison for this, but if you want I’ll totally steal one of Agent Stern’s secret ABBA CDs that I’m not supposed to know about.”

This pulls a quiet laugh from Dani that Aubrey could get lost in. “Could you put on the music you use in the background of your magic shows?” Then quieter, “Please?”

In a flash, Aubrey’s up and shuffling through her CD collection before finally finding one that says ‘Kickass Magic Beats’ with little fireworks and Dr. Harris Bonkers in a tophot drawn on the cover. And while Aubrey’s art skills are, well some would say non-existent, she’s pretty proud of the album art. Then, with a few click of the buttons on her old-ass stereo, her magic show music starts playing throughout the room.

The rain can still be heard, but its softer now, almost like it's just a background track to the song.

Aubrey makes her way back over to the bed, kicking off her shoes and leaning back against the headboard. Without a word, Dani scoots up next to her and leans her head on Aubrey’s shoulder. For a few minutes, they let the music fill the silence. Occasionally, the thunder will return and with each booming clap, Aubrey will feel Dani jump against her shoulder and then curl closer to her side.

Eventually, without being pressed, Dani simply states, “We don’t have thunderstorms on Sylvain.”

Now here’s a list of acceptable responses to your girlfriend saying this:

‘I didn’t know that.’

‘Really?’

‘I can understand why thunderstorms freak you out so much then’

You know what, maybe even just an encouraging nod would do the trick.

But does Aubrey say any of those things?

Well . . . Not exactly.

“Holy shit really?”

Okay so uh . . . Not the best pass at comforting her girlfriend, Aubrey will admit, and she quickly presses an apology kiss to her cheek.

Luckily, Dani just laughs at the outburst. “Yeah, they’re just . . . Not a thing? I mean, we- Or well I guess, _they_ still have rain, but the thunder and lightning, it just doesn’t happen on Sylvain.”

This time, Aubrey manages out a more appropriate response. “Must’ve been a shock-” She stops. “That wasn’t uh, that wasn’t a pun I just ugh- I can’t imagine going through a thunderstorm for the first time after you know, _not_ for your whole life.”

Suddenly, the room lights up with a crack of lightning and a rolling thunder that roars through the lodge. And this time when Dani jumps, Aubrey brings up the arm wrapped around her shoulder and starts gently running her fingers through Dani’s hair.

“But that’s the thing,” Dani’s voice trembles, somehow quieter than before. “ _Everyone_ here grew up without thunderstorms. But they’re all just, fine with it. They’ve gotten used to it. I’m the only one who’s still being a baby about it.”

“Hey no, you’re not a baby. A lot of people who’ve grown up on Earth their whole lives don’t like thunderstorms and they’re not babies either. Sometimes we’re afraid of things and that’s you know,  that’s okay. It’s okay to be afraid.” Aubrey takes a breath, her fingers wandering down to trace over Dani’s neck. “ I mean, I’m freaked out by snakes. Barclay hates flying. Indrid’s scared of spiders- We all got something. And like, I don’t wanna sit here and lecture you on why you shouldn’t be afraid cause I don’t know about you, but I always find that patronizing.” Aubrey pauses for a second. “I mean, unless that’s what you want? Like I don’t really know how thunderstorms work but I can go grab Mama's laptop and figure it out.” Another crash of thunder echoes outside and for a second the lights flicker above them and Dani lets out a muffled whimper. “I guess what I’m trying to ask is- What do you need from me?”

Dani stays silent for a beat or two, her hands running up and down Dr. Bonkers fur in a steady pattern. “Could you um, just keep talking?”

WIth a warm smile and another kiss, this time to Dani’s forehead, Aubrey gives a little mock salute. “Can do!” And with that, Aubrey starts to shift so she’s laying down flat on the bed and then pats her stomach. “Wanna add some cuddling on to that?”

As an answer, Dani gently sets Dr. Bonkers down on the bed and then situates herself so she’s lying on top of Aubrey, her head resting on Aubrey’s heart.

“Better?”

Dani hums in agreement, slowly going up and down with every breath Aubrey takes.

As one of her hands comes up to run through Dani’s hair and the other rubs soothing circles in her back, Aubrey thinks of a story she hasn’t told Dani before. “So when I was travelling around, doing magic, being awesome, I once stayed at this little motel that had this super strict no pets policy. Which, Dr. Harris Bonkers isn’t even a pet! He’s my assistant and graduated top of his class at Vassar!” Aubrey huffs, drawing another laugh out of Dani. “ Anyways, this was the only place to stay in town, so I really didn’t have many options.”

Tracing swirling patterns on Aubrey’s shirt, Dani quietly asks, “So what did you do?”

“Well, I had some blankets in my bag, so I bundled him up, and said he was my baby.”

“You didn’t!”

Its Aubrey turn to laugh. “Oh I did. Even pulled up some baby noises off youtube and played them as I walked through the lobby to really _sell it_.”

Dani shifts and stifles a yawn. “And they never found out?”

“Well . . . Not exactly.” Another crack of thunder rumbles through the lodge, but it's quieter this time, Dani so engrossed in the story that the noise passes over them as if it's nothing more than a crash of cymbals on the soundtrack. “I had nearly made it out of the lobby when the blanket slipped and everyone saw that my uh, ‘baby’ wasn’t really a baby.”

“No!”

“Yep! And I did what any reasonable person would do- I claimed that my baby had been turned into a rabbit.”

The rumble of Dani laughing on her chest sends butterflies through Aubrey’s stomach.

And as the night continues on, Aubrey passing from one story to another, the music eventually fading, both Dani and Aubrey come to a realization.

For Aubrey, it's the realization that the sound of thunderstorms don’t hold a fucking candle to the gentle sound of Dani breathing as she drifts off to sleep.

And for Dani, it's the realization that thunderstorms are just a bit more bearable when she has the sound of Aubrey’s heart beating beneath her ear drowning out everything else in the world.


	2. The Wail In Our Minds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An abrupt wake up leaves Aubrey shaken, but Dani is there to offer what she can.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well the new taz episode hasn't come out yet, but I'm expecting it to kill me, so here's more Danbrey hurt/comfort and fluff to get us through this. Also just a heads up, Aubrey reacts similarly to the events of this chapter to the way she reacted with the whole Pizza Hut Sign incident. Nothing too major though. Hope you all enjoy!

Dani doesn’t dream often, so on those rare moments where she finds herself slipping down into some soft place, she cherishes it.

Sometimes it's memories- The details switched about and put here and there, but a memory all the same. These dreams can bring the sweetest delights or the harshest pains, and Dani can never tell which is which until she wakes. For sometimes, she dreams of home. Of her brother begging her to lift him up on her shoulders to watch the Midsummer parade. Of her mother teaching her how to tend to the plants, to listen to what they want and give it to them. Of something as simple as the click of her boots on the cobblestone streets of Sylvain.

In the moment, she always loves these dreams, fights against anything that would take her away from the warm embrace of her family. However, once she wakes, the dreams twist into nothing more than a harsh reminder of what she has lost.

Luckily, she always has something to wake up to remind her of what she has gained.

On this particular night, the trees of the monongahela swaying slightly with every breath of the cool night air, the first thing Dani is aware of as she drifts to consciousness is Aubrey’s arms wrapped around her, keeping her close.

And as Dani tries to pick up the pieces of whatever dream had been floating through her mind moments before, the hands that were holding her suddenly disappear as Aubrey bolts upright in bed.

It's that moment where Dani realises she hadn’t woken up of her own accord.

_The fire alarm is going off._

Oh no, oh no, oh no. Dani scrambles up in bed and despite the dark, she can see clear as day the way Aubrey is shaking, the way her eyes flit between the room around them and her own hands.

“Aubs?” Dani puts a gentle hand on her shoulder, her voice light. It's a stark contrast to the constant high wailing echoing through the room. “Come on. We have to go outside. Okay?”

Aubrey is silent.

The alarms are not.

“It’s probably just uh, just someone making popcorn, but we’re still going to go wait outside with the others. I’m going to get your slippers and then we’ll leave, that sound good?”

Aubrey nods.

She hasn’t stopped looking at her hands.

Dani stands up, making sure to remain in Aubrey’s line of sight and grabs her slippers and a light blanket off the bed, giving both to her girlfriend. With Aubrey wrapped up in the blanket and Dr. Harris Bonkers happily snuggled up in Dani’s arms, they both make their way out of Aubrey’s room. The alarm is worse in the hallway. Like a pulsating scream, the fire alarm wails across the lodge. Off the bat, Dani doesn’t see or smell smoke, making the inkling of worry welling in her chest die down just a bit. The other residents don’t seem worried either, some of them dabbing along to the beat of the alarm as they shuffle down the hall.

However, the general ease the others feel about the situation doesn’t pass to Aubrey. Her eyes have an odd glassy sheen to them, half from sleep, half well . . . Not. Her fingers trace down the edges of the blanket around her shoulder in a never ending pattern.

She looks lost.

Shifting, Dr. Harris Bonkers to one hand, Dani gently puts the other around Aubrey like a lifeline. With a shuddering breath, Aubrey leans into the touch, still not saying a word.

They make it outside and as the others mill around, rubbing the sleep from their eyes and grumbling about being woken up. Dani and Aubrey go over to one of the benches Mama had built, and sit down.

Out here, the alarm is muffled, like it’s been smothered with a pillow. However, which each dim wail, Aubrey seems to curl in further on herself.

Dani opens her mouth to say something, anything to help, but barely gets out a sound before Aubrey whispers, her words nearly getting lost on the night wind.

“It’s my fault.”

And with those words alone, Dani’s heart breaks. “No. Aubrey. No, it’s not your fault. It’s just-”

And then Mama’s voice booms out over the gathered guests. “False alarm everybody. _Somebody_ decided it’d be a fine idea to microwave an entire bag of grapes and set off the smoke detectors.”

From somewhere in the crowd, Jake yells out “Sorry dudes! They tasted dope though!”

With that, Mama shakes her head and lets everyone know they can go back to bed.

“See?” Dani says. “Just Jake and his hot grapes. Nothing more.”

“Maybe not this time, but next time it might be me.” Aubrey’s voice, usually loud and bright, grows soft and weak, her hands shaking along with it. “I could loose control again and . . . A-and, people will get hurt. _You’ll_ get hurt. Because of me.”

Everyone else has filed back inside, leaving the two of them sitting there in the dark. “Aubrey, everyone here knows that you would never hurt us. You risk your life with the Pine Guard to keep us safe. You’re strong, Aubrey and you’ve come so far.”

Dani doesn’t know how much of an affect her words are having, but god she hopes its helping- even just a little bit. She’s under no illusion that a late-night filled with soft words will wash away the years of guilt and pain Aubrey has faced, but that doesn’t mean Dani will just sit idly by either.

There’s a few seconds of silence before Dani finally asks, “What do you need from me?”

Aubrey takes a deep breath. “I don’t . . . I don’t wanna go to sleep. I can’t. I-” Another breath. “Can you distract me?”

“Of course.” Dani stands up and offers her hand which Aubrey gladly takes. “Here, I was going to wait to show you this until it’s finished, but I think you’ll like it anyways.”

And with that, the two of them walk back inside, Dani rubbing her thumb soothingly across Aubrey’s skin. They make it to Dani’s room, and she quickly flips on the lights and moves the ladder she’d be using earlier out of the way. However, she stays close to the lightswitch. “Here, lay down on the bed for me?”

Aubrey sighs. “Babe I really don’t feel like sleeping right now.”

“We’re not sleeping. Just- trust me? Okay?”

With only some hesitance, Aubrey situates herself on the bed, hands folded up on her stomach. And with that, Dani flips off the lights.

Aubrey’s gasp is immediate and Dani feels a warmth bloom in her chest at her awestruck expression as the gazes up. “Holy shit this is . . . This is incredible!”

For on the ceiling are dozens upon dozens of hand painted stars, faintly glowing in the dark down upon them.

Joining Aubrey on the bed, Dani snuggles close to her girlfriend, their hands intertwining like it was the most natural thing in the world.

Maybe because at this point, _it was._

“I’m not finished yet, I still need to paint Sylvain’s rings in. I know you’ve seen them during the day, but at night, they glow purple and silver. It’s beautiful.”

Aubrey turns her head and Dani takes the opportunity to nuzzle against her neck, taking in the sweet smell of her soap. “So like, this is actually Sylvain’s sky? Not just, I don’t know, random stars?”

“Yeah, it’s as close as I can get. Even got Barclay to lend me one of his old star charts so I could make it as accurate as possible.” She pauses and it takes her less than three seconds to decide which story to tell Aubrey. Pointing up at a spot on the ceiling directly above them, Dani almost feels like they truly are out stargazing. “See those stars right there? Starting near the ceiling vent? What do they look like to you?”

Aubrey spends a second staring up before finally saying, “Kinda looks like a person?”

“Yeah, it’s supposed to.” Dani gives Aubrey a small kiss. “It’s one of Sylvain’s most famous constellations. It represents Earth.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Do you want to hear the story behind it?”

Aubrey nods, shifting closer to her, their legs tangling together. By now, her breathing is almost back to normal.

“Alright, so many years ago, before there was well uh, anything, when everything was one, Earth and Sylvain were lovers and spent their days happy by each other's side.”

Dani pauses, making sure she remembers all the parts of the story.

“However, then everything that we know, the planets the stars and all in between it all- Well, it all began to form and Earth and Sylvain were pulled apart, pushed to opposite ends of the galaxy.”

“Wow, so even the big bang's a homophobe,” Aubrey says lightly. “Figures.”

Dani smiles, pressing another kiss to Aubrey’s cheek. “Well, Sylvain was so distraught that her love was so far from her, and Earth could not bear her heart not being by her side, that the two of them together formed the gates that connect Earth and Sylvain so that even the Universe couldn’t keep them apart.”

Aubrey hums out a little noise. “So our planets are some lady lovin’ ladies?”

“According to the stories, yes.”

_“Hell yeah.”_

Dani laughs and then points back up at the constellation. “In fact, that constellation is one of our only uh, circumpolar constellations? I think that’s the word. Anyway, no matter what time of year it is, you can always see it in the night sky. They say it's because Sylvain can’t bear to look away from her love, even for a second.”

And whether she meant to or not, Dani realises she said that whole last part while staring deep into Aubrey’s beautiful mismatched eyes.

“I know the feeling,” Aubrey whispers, turning on to her side and bringing up her hand to Dani’s hair as they pull each other into a kiss.

As they lie in bed, lips brushing together in an unhurried fashion, their fingers lightly tracing across each others skin, the wail of the alarms long gone, both Aubrey and Dani feel an overwhelming sense of love and comfort that fills them to the brim, that makes them feel like they’re floating, like they could be in a dream.

And although neither of them know it, the star that makes up the Earth constellations right eye, is a familiar one to them both-

 

It’s the Sun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I honestly just love the idea of Earth and Sylvain being in love and until I'm proven otherwise, this is what I'm going with. Thank you all for reading!!

**Author's Note:**

> Sylvain being an entirely different planet is so fun cause I just say things like 'oh it doesn't have thunderstorms' and there's nothing in canon to say they do (yet). Anyways, I really enjoyed writing this as I was really in the mood for just some sweet hurt/comfort. Also this is my first ever Danbrey fic but will certainly not be the last cause I love them <3
> 
> Next chapter will be Dani comforting Aubrey!


End file.
